President Sheikh Mohamed on Thursday met Russian President Vladimir Putin during an official visit to Moscow.
A reception ceremony was held at Vnukovo Airport, during which the UAE and Russian national anthems were played and a guard of honour was formed.
Sheikh Mohamed was later pictured meeting Mr Putin in the Kremlin after beginning his latest high-profile trip to the country.
The two men discussed ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries, in addition to regional and international issues of common interest, state news agency Wam reported. They reviewed co-operation in the fields of the economy, trade, investment, space and energy.
Sheikh Mohamed said UAE-Russia relations are based on mutual trust and respect, as well as deep-rooted and constructive engagement spanning more than 50 years. He also highlighted the UAE’s commitment to strengthening peace and stability around the world.
The two men discussed the importance of the Russia-Arab summit, scheduled for October, and reviewed the latest developments in the Middle East.
Sheikh Mohamed thanked Mr Putin for facilitating the UAE's mediation concerning the exchange of more than 4,000 prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, while Mr Putin thanked Sheikh Mohamed for the UAE’s prisoner swap efforts.
Mr Putin said Russia attaches great importance to developing its relations with the UAE, noting the two countries’ co-operation continues to grow. He also hosted a lunch for Sheikh Mohamed and the accompanying delegation.
Agreements signed
On the sidelines of the visit, the two countries signed the Trade in Services and Investment Agreement.
Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, and Andrey Nikitin, Russian Minister of Transport, also signed an agreement on transport co-operation.
Sheikh Mohamed departed Moscow at the conclusion of his official visit, with military aircraft escorting his plane through Russian airspace.
Potential meeting with Trump
Speaking to television cameras, Mr Putin said the UAE was a possible site for a meeting with Donald Trump – in what would be his first meeting with a US president since Joe Biden in 2021.
"We have many friends who are ready to assist us in the organisation of an event of this kind. One of my friends is the President of the UAE," Mr Putin told Russian state media. "I believe that we will make a decision but it [the UAE] would be one of the fitting, quite suitable venues."
A Kremlin official said earlier that a Trump-Putin meeting could take place as early as next week. The announcement of a potential summit came on the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress towards ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine.
The UAE has this year mediated the exchange of hundreds of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine. Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have thanked the UAE for its efforts in enabling the exchange.
Later that month, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, met Mr Putin in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on behalf of President Sheikh Mohamed, where he attended the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting.
Sheikh Mohamed's delegation in Russia included:
- Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs
- Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, Adviser to the President
- Ali Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for National Security
- Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology
- Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade
- Mohamed Al Suwaidi, Minister of Investment
- Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State
- Faisal Al Bannai, Adviser to the President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs
- Dr Ahmed Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the President’s Office for Strategic Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office
- Dr Mohammed Al Jaber, UAE Ambassador to Russia
